Call of the Slayer
by classprotector1999
Summary: Every potential slayer has been activated, including those in the worlds beyond Sunnydale. When Aqua learns she is a slayer, she vows to take down the evil that is plaguing the worlds. She searches for other slayers to build a team to defeat The First and it's agents. Multiple Crossover including Batwoman, Orphan Black, and more!
1. Kingdom Falling

Aqua opened her eyes. The darkness of the room washed over and filled her with an emptiness she hadn't felt before. She stood straight up, yet her wrists were circled by shackles, and chained to a hoop halfway down the side of the wall. The weakness she felt made itself known.

' _Where am I?...'_

Aqua scanned the room veiled in darkness, and squinted her ice blue eyes to try and get them to adjust them faster. Dirt covered walls enclosed the bare area, and along the ceiling's perimeter, small, metal spikes pointed inward, and six-legged insects crawled among them. In the center, Aqua noticed a small square-shaped door sealed shut.

' _How is anyone supposed to get through that?'_

Then, the ceiling door swung open, and an older, white haired man stuck his head through the opening. Aqua and the mysterious man exchanged eye contact, and his eyes grew wide. Without a word, he turned away and shut the door. Feet scurried above Aqua's head, and she heard two deep voices.

"She's awake! When the hell is this thing supposed to happen? She wasn't supposed to wake up until after it was over," said the first man.

"It shouldn't be more than a few hours now. We will keep her here until it is time, and proceed once the line has been activated. Nothing has changed."

That voice sounded vaguely familiar… but Aqua couldn't place it in her dreary haze. Her arms felt as though they'd been the rope in their own game of tug-o-war and like her whole body was made of lead.

Suddenly, the earth began to shake. Cracks filled the ground Aqua was standing on, and they stretched from beneath her feet to every corner of the dungeon. Above her the ceiling illuminated in the shape of a web, and the light was shed onto her face.

Screams flooded Aqua's once quiet chamber. The earth continued to shift, and the shrieks grew louder and more frantic. She could only imagine what the horror outside actually contained. ' _I need out.'_

She tugged at the chains on her arms, but with eachtired creak of the hoop, she realized it was useless. The keyblade wielder opened her mouth to scream out in frustration, but not a sound escaped.

Then, an unknown force took over.

A surge of energy ran rampant through her entire being, she felt her skin on fire, and her insides glowed radiantly. Her entire essence seemed to be changing. But it was too much, and she slipped into unconsciousness as visions formed on the back of her eyelids.

-x-

Aqua found herself in a spaceless void. A blonde young woman appeared in front of her, and in her hands was a weapon. It had one wooden end that came to a fine point, and the other side carried… ' _an axe, maybe_?'Aqua felt an indescribable connection with her, as if they had known eachother forever.

Aqua found herself and her girl to be in a crypt, and around them, more pieces began to make themselves clear. Disfigured monsters surrounded the blonde as she fought them off, weapon in hand. They bared demonic faces that carried long, sharp teeth, and pointy ears.

Female warriors appeared, varying in age, shape and size, who fought off the monsters as well. Aqua had never seen them before, yet the bond she felt with the original girl was shared with these women as well.

Aqua's attention turned back to _her_ , who showed off incredible strength for a woman of her stature. Her height didn't tower high above five feet, and she didn't bulge with muscles. In fact, her build resembled more of an ice skater rather than a warrior who could fight off grotesque creatures.

The vision continued, and Aqua watched as one girl went down after another. A tall brunette stabbed through the chest by a monster's claw, a chubby red-head pierced through the neck. She looked in awe, but was unable to move through the vision to help the women.

Almost as quickly as it began, her vision started to clear. As each moment left, another warrior went with it. The sounds surrounding her dungeon came into focus again. The familiar friend left Aqua's mind and she opened her eyes.

-x-

When she returned to the world, the ground still shook and the earth continued to collapse. But Aqua felt different. Something surged inside of her and she felt strength and power like never before.

The earth ceased its shaking. Still, people ran around in the chaos above and Aqua knew this was her only chance to escape.

Her heart raced, and a sensation burned in the pit of her stomach. She balled up her fists in a fury. With a quick tug, Aqua snapped the chains from the wall, and they clanked to the floor.

' _Escape now, questions later.'_

Above her, the trap door had collapsed in. If she could just reach up to the swinging door…

She traced the wall with her hands, desperate for any leverage she could get, but returned with nothing. She cried out and threw her fist at the wall, and the brick caved in.

Aqua looked to it, shocked again by her sudden hit of strength,yet excited to have figured out her next step. She planted her left foot, took hold of the hanging door, and effortlessly brought herself through the door and out of her prison.

-x-

She crashed into the door in front of her, exposing herself to her first breath of fresh air. She had been kept below a building, among the shore. Across the small body of water was a town ablaze in a crimson flame. The surrounding area seemed lifeless, and the smell of burnt skin cascaded over the area. Aqua turned to face the castle behind her, and although it was melting away, she recognized the white and gold coloring.

The Land of Departure.

It had been years since she had referred to this place as home. What once held her midnight breakdowns, sleepovers, and endless traini-

Aqua took off in a sprint towards the castle.

She wandered through the rubble, and the few people who remained scurried frantically from the flames. The wielder rounded the corner to the castle's front, forced herself through the thinning crowd, with the sounds of bones crunching beneath her feet as she fled to the colossal double doors. They swung open as if to embrace her, but her former home had become her personal hell.

Aqua ran into the center of the abandoned, wrecked castle, turned left into the throne room where she first met Sora and she headed towards the training dojo down the hallway.

She broke into the room and a wave of heat passed over her; she covered her mouth with her sleeve and tried to see through the smoke **.** The swords that once filled the walls had been taken in the initial chaos. She moved to a dimly lit corner, and threw open a cabinet that had been shoved between the wall and a weight rack.

She was shuffling through its remnants, praying, when she spotted them. Her keychains. They dangled in a row right where she had left them. She picked up the cluster and twirled them in her fingers. Every one of them were right where she had left them so many years ago.

' _Thanks, Riku…'_

Keychains in hand, she ran from the room, back down the hallway and out of the building, and as soon as her feet hit the pavement, she snapped on her keychains, ignited her Keyblade Glider, and threw it towards the sky. The burning castle became a candle's flame as her trusted Glider pulled her to safety and she realized this was the last she'd see of her former home. But she didn't look back.


	2. Return to the Garden

Sora and Riku walked hand in hand as they descended the steps in the fountain court at Radiant Garden.

"I just don't understand why the King always has to leave in the middle of a crisis," Sora complained.

"You know he's only out there trying to protect us. He has to find those girls," Riku explained as he tugged on Sora's hand to move quicker.

"We've got to do something about Aqua. We still don't know anything?" Sora inquired. Riku shook his head no.

They exited the interior of the castle and shared a quick peck. Riku held Sora's face and looked intently as he spoke. "I'll try and reach Mickey again. You stay put and… relax. For now." Sora didn't look pleased with his task but he continued to listen to his boyfriend's words. "If what Mickey is saying really is supposed to happen, then we've got a lot to prepare for." And with that, Riku turned and ran towards the interior of the castle.

After planting himself on the ground, Sora laid back and allowed his mind to wander. He thought back to when he first found out what was to happen in the coming days. His first instinct when the King shared the news was to tell Aqua everything, but she had been missing.

As Sora drifted out of consciousness, he heard a familiar sound fill the air and it jerked him back awake. Up in the sky, Sora saw the outline of what he believed to be his best friend's Keyblade Glider. _'No way… Aqua?'_

He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear the sky of what he thought was his brain playing jokes, but when he opened his eyes yet again, he was certain it wasn't his imagination. Aqua descend from the sky, and Sora couldn't contain his excitement any longer.

"AQUA!" Sora shouted as he jumped up and began to frantically wave his arms, "AQUA, DOWN HERE!"

The blue haired girl stopped mid-air and looked around the Garden. _'I can swear that's his voi-'_ but her thought was interrupted by the sight of her old friend.

"SORA!" she yelped as she aimed her glider toward the front of the courtyard. She kicked her speed into gear, and headed towards the ground faster. The glider rushed into the courtyard and skidded across the floor and into a bush as Aqua jumped off without hesitation. She ran to Sora, almost quicker than her glider could have gone, and on arrival, she embraced his small frame and grasped tightly. At first she didn't notice the sounds of his compressed voice box beneath her.

"Agwaaaah… too… tight… being… crushed" Sora said, and Aqua released her hold. "You nearly squeezed the life out of me!"

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Sora! I'm just so happy to see you! God, what the hell is going on here? Where have I been? How long was I gone? Sora, we've got to do something." Her brain had been on rapid fire since leaving the Land of Departure.

Sora couldn't help but laugh. He loved Aqua's passion, how she was always willing to put up a fight, always eager to find the answers and do the right thing.

"Well..." he began, "I've got kind of a lot to catch you up on. Are you okay, though? None of us know where you've been." He looked to Aqua, whose eyes looked tired and dreary. "Hey, you're safe now," he assured.

Her face lightened at the sound of Sora's tone, and she smiled. "God, wait till you hear where I've been through."

The two sat side by side on the grass in the courtyard. Aqua began to tell Sora the story of how she woke up as a prisoner and the bizarre series of events that followed. Sora listened to her tale, wide-eyed and open-eared. She shared news of her unknown capturer, the earthquake she encountered, the fire that overtook the land, and how the Land of Departure had been destroyed. Lastly, she told Sora about the vision she had. He perked up intensely as she told him of the blonde girl, the mysterious monsters, and the feeling she couldn't deny, that she seemed to have gotten… stronger maybe?

A knowing smile crept on Sora's face. "It's already happened…" he muttered.

"What do you know?" Aqua questioned.

"Not much," Sora began. "But that vision you had, it wasn't _just_ a vision. It was sort of a huge rip-in-the-universe, power-giving, world-colliding event. Mickey explained what he could to Riku and I before he took off. But, Aqua... you've got a huge mission ahead."

"What do you mean it wasn't a vision? And… and power-giving? Is that why I've been smashing bricks into walls with my bare fist?!" Aqua tried her best not to get worked up. "And now a mission? What's going on Sora, what happened to me?"

Sora hesitated but knew the conversation was more than necessary. "Have you ever heard of a Slayer?" he asked.

"What the hell is a Slayer?"

"A vampire slayer. It's not exactly from our world." Sora said.

"What's the story?"

"Legend has it, there is one girl out there protecting common people from demons, vampires, and other-worldly monsters. She was given powers years ago from some ancient shaman men." Sora looked to Aqua, and the two locked eyes as he continued. "She's strong, fast, heals quickly, has heightened senses, basically she's sort of… super-human," Sora explained. "And not just in a key-blade wielding way."

Sora waited for Aqua to ask another question, but she was still processing the information, so he continued.

"There's a long line of girls, and women, who could potentially be a slayer, but they don't have powers. It's just supposed to be this one girl, and when she dies, another one is called and she becomes the Slayer," Sora continued, "But now there's bigger forces at play. Bigger goods and bigger evils."

"So what does this have to do with world-colliding events? And my vision?" Aqua hesitated to ask about her vision, she didn't want to seem like she was being selfish, but she was genuinely concerned.

Sora smirked. "Because you're a slayer."

Aqua was stunned. "What? How?!" She paused. "You just said Slayers are from another world. How could I be one? Did another one die for me to become one? How could this -"

"One at a time," Sora laughed. "We'll go with how?"

"Sure, sure, let's start there," she agreed.

"Well I said there's bigger goods and evils at work here… Mickey told us there's a great war starting in a world called Sunnydale. The evil around there, it's called The First. As in the First entity of evil there ever was. And now it's threatening to wage war on us all."

"So…" Aqua continued, "how do we beat this First evil's ass?"

"It technically doesn't have an ass to beat," Sora began. "Every evil thought, every inch of darkness we've experienced, it's all tied to this. But, luckily, we have the greatest enemy against The First on our side."

"A slayer?"

"Buffy Summers, THE slayer, the one who started this all. And we've got to help each other to finish it."

"But you just said I'm the slayer. I don't even think that makes sen-"

"Well, I'm not done!" Sora laughed and continued to explain. "Buffy's been fighting in her world for years now. She's the best of the best. And even she needed help," he explained. "You're right, there's only supposed to be one slayer at a time, but she messed with the rules." Sora looked in Aqua's piercing blue eyes. "She activated the entire Slayer line, Aqua. Every girl who was ever supposed to be called to be a Slayer has been given the powers of one. Buffy and her group, they gave you this power. "

"But I've never heard any of this before" exclaimed Aqua. "I don't even know where Sunnydale is."

"Mickey is the one who has the answers, per usual, but the one thing he ensured us is that you have to help the other girls who were activated in the worlds outside of Sunnydale. They're just as clueless as you were five minutes ago," said Sora. "And more importantly, we have to help Buffy."

"I'm going to have to fight the monsters from my vision, aren't I?" Aqua asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely," Sora answered.

"Alright, so, where do we start?"

"You start. You've got to go out there and make sure the other Slayers are made aware, kept safe, and can be ready to fight," Sora replied. "You're the only one we have to reach these girls."

"So, what, I'm just supposed to hop on my glider and fly world to world magically being drawn to the other slayers? I need more direction than that," she declared.

"The King is working on getting you a list of worlds that have slayers. But, essentially, yes. You're drawn to the energy of other slayers, and we need as many as we can find if we want any shot of winning this."

"Slayers, powers, demons, I mean we've got some freaky shit going on in our world, but this?" Aqua said as she slumped onto the grass below.

Sora joined and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Aqua, you're the bravest, smartest, strongest girl I know. And that just got upped by a thousand. I know that you, more than anyone, can handle this. And you're not going to be alone. You've got a whole line of slayers on your side now." Sora paused. "I don't know all the answers, but I can tell you already feel them, don't you?"

Aqua looked up slowly and nodded. Sora noticed tears form in her eyes.

"Yeah, you really are the only person for the job, ya big sap!" Sora laughed. The blue haired wielder always had the biggest heart, of course she already felt connected to the other slayers.

Aqua chuckled softly and wiped the tears away with her sleeves. Sora wrapped his other arm over her and held tight. Aqua returned the embrace, and once again exerted too much strength into it. Sora yelped when she tightened her grip and Aqua quickly let go and backed away.

"I'm so sorry, Sora, I-"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, I'm just glad there's still an Aqua to hug." Sora smiled as he looked up to the sky.

They sat side by side in silence for a moment. Aqua's voice eventually broke the stillness.

"I have to leave tomorrow, don't I?" Aqua asked.

Sora nodded and looked down. She sensed his sadness, hell, she didn't want to be separated again either, but she knew the task at hand. She was going to save those girls.

Aqua sat up to face the courtyard and pulled herself to her feet. If she was going to save the world, she was going to do it with her head held high.

"You gonna help me pack or what?" she asked as she walked towards the interior of the castle.

Sora jerked up and followed her lead as she descended into the gates. "You haven't even seen Riku yet!" he exclaimed from behind, "Oh, he is going to flip when he finds out you're stronger than him!"

"Psh, I was always stronger," Aqua laughed as she pushed open the gates and the two entered the castle.

-x-

Riku scavenged through his and Sora's dresser to find the phone that connected directly to The King's line to get any updates on his missing friend.

Riku remembered the conversation they had vividly, just hours after first being filled in on the events that were to come of the Slayer line, Mickey approached Sora and Riku in the castle corridors in secret. He pulled them into his study and explained the circumstances at hand.

"Aqua is missing." The keyblade wielders immediately grew worried as The King continued. "We have no lead as to where she could be, and we have begun a hunt to locate her as well as the other Slayers."

Sora immediately questioned this. "Riku and I, we can go find her, we'll -"

"You are to carry out the mission of keeping our world safe," Mickey interrupted. "The worlds are colliding now, places we never knew to exist are bleeding their way into this world. You need to protect our home while Aqua tries to save the others."

"She can't be out there alone, there has to be something more we can do!" Riku exclaimed.

"You will be doing what you are meant to and we can't ask anymore from you. However, I must take leave and search for our Slayer," the King said.

Riku didn't question Mickey, after all, he had always lead Riku in the right direction. His memory was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice that made it's way down the hallway and closer to the room he and Sora shared.

The white doors unlatched and swung open as Aqua and Sora bounced through them. The blue haired Slayer spoke so effortlessly, Riku didn't even realize she was in the middle of a joke when he turned around to see her. Aqua stopped mid sentence to greet him.

"Hey stranger!" she bellowed.

"You're here!" Riku shouted as a tear fell from his eye, and he jumped towards her with open arms.

"Physically, definitely here!" Aqua laughed as she returned his embrace, "Not so sure if I'm actually 'here here' though." She tightened her embrace, forgetting once again about her added strength, and Riku felt squished beneath her small frame.

"Whoa, easy! What've you been up to, training to be the next Hulk?"

"She's been locked up, Riku," Sora explained before Riku could question her further. "And you'll never guess where."

"The Land of Departure?" Riku said blankly.

"Nope! Hah, I told - wait. Yeah, you're right," Sora said as he bowed his head down in embarrassment.

Riku smirked at Sora's quirkiness, which had always charmed him. "I didn't know anything! It just seemed like the last place I would have expected you to be held captive." He said as he turned to Aqua. "Are you okay?"

"The next person who asks me that is getting seriously pummeled," she smiled. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm good, kid. I'll let Sora fill you in later. All you gotta know is whatever was supposed to happen, happened and you're looking at your next super-hero Slayer!" she exclaimed. "The real question is, when is the King supposed to fill me in on, oh, I don't know, maybe where I should go?" she remarked sarcastically.

Almost as if on queue, the phone rang from the dresser Riku had devoured to find it. Sora shuffled to it, and found it quickly. He noted the "Mickey" that flashed on the caller i.d., and showed it to his friends, who stared with wide eyes and encouraged him to pick up.

"Hey! Mickey, guess who showed-" Sora began before being stopped by the unheard voice on the other end. He waved a hand at the two in the center of the room and took leave to continue the conversation.

Aqua looked around Riku and Sora's room, which she was all too familiar with, and took a dive into the center of their fluffy king-sized bed. "You guys have got to get a bigger bed, there's just not enough room for the two of you!" she laughed.

Riku smiled at her. "You don't have any idea how happy we all are that you're alive," he started as he sat on the foot of the bed.

"You don't have any idea how not happy I am that I've got this huge self-reliant mission ahead of me," Aqua retorted. "It's nice to be saving the world again, but shit, how did all this even happen? I mean, it sounds like a bunch of fairy-tales."

"I think we're the ones in the fairy-tale worlds, sweetie."

Aqua chuckled. "You know what I mean. These fairy-tales, the ones we grew up with, I can handle. But demons? And vampires?"

"Come on, it can't be any harder than defeating the Darkness. Or even Master Xehanort!"

"The Darkness no biggie, but Master Xehanort was a whole different story." As she spoke of Xehanort she experienced small flashbacks of losing her two closest friends to the evil master, before she ever met Riku and Sora.

Riku didn't notice the dissociation in Aqua's mind and continued the conversation. "Well, you've got a whole gang behind you this time. People from different worlds! It's got to be at least a little exciting, right?" Riku asked.

Aqua snapped out of her daydream but before she could respond, Sora rushed back into the room. Riku and Aqua quickly shot off the bed to hound Sora.

"So, what's the scoop?" Aqua asked.

"Looks like you'll be off to find some Slayer wannabes tomorrow," Sora began, "The King is coming back in a few days, and Riku and I are to get our world ready. He says there's tons happening already, a lot of pieces moving."

Riku listened and nodded along to the debriefing. Aqua stared at Sora intensely and hung on to every syllable.

Sora continued, "Riku and I are supposed to start gathering troops on the home front, so you're away team."

"I assume the King's got my first step all set then?" Aqua responded.

"He trusts you to know what the right moves are. He gave me a list of worlds expected to be inhabited by Slayers, and Riku can set up your glider to hold a map for it."

"Alright, gimme a name of the world I'm going to! I'm ready for action!"

"Let's see… GOT-HAM. That sounds like the next adventure!" The trio bursted into laughter at the sound of the name.

Riku looked up at Sora with his "are-you-kidding-me" eyes and grabbed the list. "It says GOTHAM. The T-and-H make the 'TH' sound, Sora."

Sora's face beamed red with embarrassment. "Well, you never know with these world names!" They erupted with laughter once again.

Once the humor wore off, the reality of the situation hit them. Aqua thought about how another adventure would mean more time apart, more dangerous missions, and the possibility that she and her friends wouldn't be reunited again. She didn't dare say it out loud, plus, by the looks on their faces, they were having the same realization.

Sora took a seat at the desk, and Riku and Aqua resumed their positions on the bed. They each slumped into sitting positions.

"Well, it never gets old, does it?" Sora said to break the silence.

"What doesn't?" asked Aqua.

"Us, doing the save the world thing. Aside from getting taken over by darkness and getting trapped in a dungeon, I'd say we're pretty good at it," Sora laughed.

"Even if we're not good, it's what we've got to do," Riku chimed.

"There's that Riku I know! Old reliable," Aqua scooted closer and put an arm around his shoulder. "If we don't make it back guys-"

"Hey, we can't talk like that," Sora pleaded.

"Look, I'm just saying, there's some stuff I want to say if I don't get to say it to you again. And you have to listen up," she smirked. She got up from the bed to talk to Riku and Sora as if they were listening to her keynote speech. "I didn't think I could find solace again once I lost Ventus and Terra. And then you guys came along, and as cheesy as it sounds, you taught me to love again! And we got to save the world together. And you guys saved me along with it."

Riku and Sora stayed glued to her and tears filled their eyes.

"I am eternally grateful for the two of you. And no matter what happens, no matter who makes it out, I just want you guys to know that everything I do out here is so we can live in peace again. I love you guys."

Sora jumped from the desk, and onto Aqua and embraced her. Riku followed suit, and covered the both of them with his arms. Aqua hugged them back, which resulted in various 'ow's and 'too tight.' When they separated, Aqua was quick to bring up the mission again, as to not return to her sappy ways.

"So… Gotham it is then?" she said.

"Alright!" Sora exclaimed as he handed over his scrawled out list to Aqua. "You're going to need this. Now remember, get as many girls as you can, and do your best to wait to go to Sunnydale until you've got a decent team together. Mickey hasn't been able to contact that world since… well, since you crawled out of your dungeon."

"Okay boys, you ready to save the world again?" Aqua asked them.

They followed with a unanimous, "Yep!"

"Tomorrow at dawn, then."


	3. Enter Gotham

Aqua enjoyed the breeze that caressed her face as she ascended further into the sky. She looked behind and below, and saw the fountain at the center of Radiant Garden. In front of it her two best friends continued to wave goodbye as she held back tears and carried on.

She raced on her key-blade glider in complete silence, completely unaware as to the amount of time that passed. The only thing that ran through her mind was how to find the other slayers and ensure their safety. Also not forgetting the slight hang-up, being what exactly her plan was when she got to them.

Aqua couldn't help but feel… alone.

She glanced at the center console of her key-blade glider, which contained the electronic map of worlds on the list Mickey gave to Sora. Until recently, it was unable to map out anything outside of her own world, but before she took off Riku tinkered with it, and it now contained a map of how to get to the other worlds.

"Five minutes 'til Gotham" she said aloud after glancing at the time. They slayer drifted towards the mass that had begun to form in front of her.As the city scape began to make itself known beneath the clouds, Aqua noticed tall, industrial buildings that seemed to stretch on for miles. This place was already much different from the castles she was used to frequenting.

"Let's get it." She kicked her glider up a notch and dashed into Gotham.

-x-

The blue haired slayer hit the ground fast, next to what looked like a run down Chinese take out spot. The city was dark, and there was an eerie chill. Next to the take out shop, a strip of closed down stores were boarded up with windows smashed out. Black graffiti stained the concrete walls, and street was dim, aside from the few flickering lanterns.

Aqua returned her key-blade glider to it's keychain and strolled down the moonlit lane. ' _I don't even know where to find these girls… What if they're all gone already? What if -'_

A dark figure stood with its back faced, a few hundred feet from where Aqua stopped. Something felt… different about them. They were dressed head-to-toe in black, and just a bit of red that peaked through their cape. The figure didn't notice Aqua, being previously preoccupied. Aqua backed away, hid behind the take out shop, and watched the caped person.

A young man sat on the ground, bag and belongings sprawled around him, with his face buried in his hands. Another man, on the ground next to him, wore a black mask on his face and he pleaded with the hooded figure that stood above him.

"No, I'll leave - I'll leave him alone," the masked man on the ground cried, "Just let me go, don't hurt me! Please!"

The unknown figure got to their knees and looked directly at the man. With one swift punch to his face, the man was knocked out. They turned to the younger man who lifted up his head to reveal tears streaming down his face.

"You're gonna be fine," the figure said, but the young man sobbed harder.

Aqua pondered on the voice, it had a lighter tone than a male's voice, and although it sounded gruff, she could almost be certain it was a woman. _'A slayer!?'_ Once the scene cleared out, she planned to approach her.

"You're gonna be fine," the woman repeated, "Just grab your stuff and go home."

The young blonde scurried to his feet and grabbed his belongings, then turned to face the slayer.

"Thank you," he said gently. "I really thought he was going to kill me. Thank you."

The girl smiled, and although it seemed forced, Aqua felt the sincerity behind it.

"You're welcome. Now seriously, get lost," she replied playfully.

He darted off quickly into the dark street. The girl took off her hood which concealed her long red hair. She turned around as Aqua stepped out of the shadows to show herself.

The redhead noticed Aqua and immediately took on combat stance, arms raised and legs steady.

"Wait," Aqua declared, "I'm not here to hurt you or anything!" She inched closer to the slayer, who was still on the defensive. "I'm just… I know who you are."

The woman dropped her arms and looked almost annoyed. "Congrats," she said, "You and everyone else in Gotham knows who the Batwoman is."

"Batwoman?" Aqua asked. "What's a Batwoman?"

"You're looking at her," she replied. "Isn't that why - aren't you here to meet me or whatever? You can tell all your friends about how you saw the masked bat lady?"

"No, actually, I'm not here for that." She paused. "There's something happening outside of Gotham, actually, and you're apart of it." Aqua didn't want to overwhelm her with the whole 'slayer, chosen one, save the world thing' quite yet, but she didn't know exactly how or what to tell her.

"Something bigger? Listen, you better start making yourself clear, I don't have all night."

"There was an earthquake here, right? Yesterday?" Aqua inquired.

"Yeah. So, what, the earth is crumbling?"

"You're not exactly wrong. Did you feel it, the power that surged through you? The earthquake, a vision, and power. Right?"

"No… Listen, just tell me what's going on," Batwoman demanded.

"You didn't have a vision? With a blonde girl, some monsters escaping hell?"

Batwoman crossed her arms and shook her head no. She was getting impatient.

"And no…" Aqua took her voice down to a whisper, "…special powers? Super strength and extra senses or anything?"

"Nope. I'm just your average vigilante taking on the city and running out the bad guys."

"I just don't get it," Aqua declared. "You took that guy out in one punch! And I felt something when I saw you, I know I did."

"Is this how you flirt?"

"What? No - I…" Aqua could feel her face flushed. Sure, this Batwoman character was cute, but definitely not what she came here for.

"Listen, why don't you just come back to my place and we can talk, and just figure out who it is you're actually looking for."

"I don't think I have time…" Aqua trailed off.

"It's past midnight, you've clearly got a lot going on. I promise you'll be safe at my place. You can crash for there for the night."

"I can take care of myself," she retorted. "Sorry, I guess I'm just tense. I'll come, but you better not try anything with me," she smirked.

"Can't make any promises," she said and put her hand out in front of Aqua's. "My name's Kate."

Aqua smiled and shook her hand, "Aqua. I'm here to find slayers."

Kate looked dumbfounded. "What's a slayer?"

-x-

The pair were settled on Kate's black couch, each with a mug of hot tea in hand. Her apartment was a penthouse in the R. H. Kane building. The interior walls were replaced with back to back windows, and the entire city glowed beneath them.

"Let me get this straight. You've got to put together your own team, full of superhero chicks who don't even know they're superheroes, and then back pack it to another world to save us all?" Kate gushed. Aqua nodded.

"Damn, I thought I had it tough."

"I'm hoping maybe some of the girls know who they are," Aqua shared optimistically. "It's going to be a pain in my ass to pull out a 'the world depends on you, come with me' speech every time I meet a new slayer."

"I've got to say, I'm way impressed. A girl out to save the world… it's a girl after my own heart," Kate teased. Aqua looked up from her mug and into Kate's eyes.

"Now you're the one flirting," she smirked.

"I'm not the one who showed up saying I had _special feelings_ when I saw you," Kate smiled. She got up from the couch, and grabbed Aqua's mug to get a refill for the both of them. Aqua followed her to sit on one of the stools at the bar that overlooked the kitchen.

Kate grabbed the kettle from the stove and poured out more tea. She turned and gave Aqua her mug as she stayed across from her, the bar between them.

"Alright, slayer, so tell me, what's going to help you? What can I do to help?" Kate declared.

"This is a good step," Aqua said. "Shelter, food, tea."

"You still need to find them though. As of now, your count's at, what, zero girls?"

Aqua looked down disappointed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Kate said as she reached her hand out to Aqua's and grasped it gently. "What I'm saying is, I can help. I want to help you."

Aqua looked up with glistened eyes. "But… how?"

"You could use a partner. And I could use a break from this town," Kate declared.

"It won't be a break though, Kate, this is serious shit, I'm already wasting so much time, I -"

"Hey," Kate interrupted, "I'm used to risking my life for the greater good. I want to do this."

"I can't ask you to take this on though."

Kate grabbed both of Aqua's hands and cradled them in hers. "You're not asking me to do anything. I'm telling you, I'm in. Full force. If you want me, that is."

Aqua failed to contain her excitement and she bounced into Kate's arms. She couldn't believe she had already found someone to help her, and even if she wasn't a slayer, she wasn't going to start turning down teammates.

"I have one condition," Kate said as she leaned out of their embrace, "you've got to let me try your glider."

"Welcome to the ride," Aqua beamed.


	4. The Wastelands

The city was still as the dark figure scoured into the R.H. Kane building's penthouse suite. She was perched upon a ledge which could easily end in death if she fell, so she remained cautious. Long reddish brown hair fell over her shoulder as she moved her head to watch the women inside travel room to room.

She had been perched on the ledge for nearly an hour, in hopes that she could get more information on the girls she saw in her vision - the blue-haired one especially. A variety of techie specialties like microphones and video recorders clung to her as she attempted to learn more. She hadn't heard much of anything, other than mention of the same vision she experienced, and a possible word on "saving the world."

The girls inside looked like they were winding down and readying themselves for bed. She wasn't getting any sleep tonight - she was going to hunt down more girls herself.

Before she turned to go, a chill rolled down her spine, and she felt something darker than the night creep up behind her. She wound up her arm to throw a punch, and with a swift turn she aimed to land it on whatever was behind her, but an arm caught hers first. An older, bald man stared into her eyes with his own golden ones, almost looking into her soul. His grin widened as he held her squirming body and hurriedly shoved a towel in her face. While every cell in her body fought to stay awake, the chemicals took over and she drifted into unconsciousness.

The morning sunlight kissed the walls inside of Kate's penthouse and draped over Aqua like a warm blanket. The couch was exceptionally comfortable, although with the kink in her neck she realized she should have taken up Kate's offer to share the bed.

Aqua smelled a fresh brew of bold coffee and decided rather hesitantly to open her eyes. She peaked through her squinted vision and saw Kate in only a t-shirt and underwear, and her face immediately grew red while inappropriate thoughts followed. Kate was too busy pouring an excessive amount of cream into her coffee to realize Aqua was awake. That was until Aqua attempted to pull her body up from the couch, and crashed back down onto the coffee table, which left shards of broken glass strewn among the floor.

"Oh, shit!" Aqua yelped as she lay in the middle of the damage. Kate quickly dropped her cup and rushed to Aqua's side.

"Whoa, hard night?" Kate joked.

"Good night, hard morning," Aqua laughed back. Kate held out her hand for Aqua to take, and she obliged. They brought Aqua back to her feet and examined the cuts she obtained. They didn't appear to be as deep as they should have been. Aqua noticed Kate eye her arm questioningly and chimed in.

"Super slayer strength comes with super slayer skin, too," she assured.

"Right, I almost forgot I had a super-hero in my midst."

"I'm the one staying in Gotham's swanky Kane building with the neighborhood vigilante," Aqua beamed. "Besides, I'm still going to need some bandages, I'm not injury free here!"

Kate dashed to the bathroom in search of her first-aid kit. Aqua took a look at the damage around her and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. 'First time at a girl's place in years and I break her table… go figure,' she thought to herself. Kate was already back with the first aid kit before Aqua had time for another thought.

Both of the women sat on the couch, glass still scattered at their feet, and Kate began to wrap a bandage around Aqua's forearm where most of the cuts occurred.

"You said there's supposed to be another slayer here, right?" Kate asked.

"According to King -"

"Mickey!" Kate said in an attempt to finish Aqua's sentence to prove that she had paid attention to the entirety of her story last night. Aqua nodded back to her and continued.

"He gave me the list of cities. Of course, he also gave the disclaimer that there's no guarantee a slayer would still be there, but still…" she trailed off, lost in thought.

"If the King sent you here, then we better start our hunt, right?" Kate asked as she finished patching up Aqua's new arm band.

"I don't even know where we would start," Aqua replied with slight frustration in her voice.

"I know someone who could help. She's got lots of weird techie shit that might be able to aid us, we've just gotta jet over there quick. You in?"

"Of course," Aqua smiled, "I'm gonna need some toothpaste though."

Kate led Aqua on foot into the inner city of Gotham. Aqua had never been to a city like this before. The smell, for one thing, felt as though it burnt her nostril hair. Sewage and waste overtook the city as if it were natural to be included in the oxygen one breathes. Buildings reached so far into the sky that they disappeared in the clouds. Faces of all kinds whizzed by her own, emotions plastered so clearly for the world to see, and while most seemed to be in a rush, Aqua could pick out the few who were excited, worried, happy, and everything in between. They comforted her own emotions, which she could hardly get a grip on since finding out she was meant to save the world.

As if it came out of the clouds, a horrific monster made it's presence known in the direction the girls ran in. Aqua stopped dead in her tracks and put her arm out to stop Kate from going any further. She recognized this face, this was a monster from her vision. She hadn't seen one in the flesh before, and it frightened her even more so than it did before. It's demonic face was wrinkled and included a huge set of sharp, yellow fangs.

This time, the monster was not alone. It was accompanied by something just as frightening. The frame of the new figure looked human, but the carvings across its eyes showed a different truth. A long, black robe encompassed the monster and it raised it's knife as it dashed towards both of the women.

Aqua grabbed Kate's wrist and pulled her to the side of a skyscraper before he could catch up.

"Kate, can you take on Mr. No Eyes?"

"On it. You got the vamp?" Kate replied. Aqua nodded to her and readied herself to attack.

Kate charged first, and ran towards the new monster in a fury. Her leg swung around quickly, and she smashed her foe directly in the rib cage with her heel, which caused him to fall backwards, although not quite losing his footing. He tried to regain balance while he pulled his sharp dagger to aim, and he moved swiftly towards her.

Aqua ran toward her opponent as he took stance in front of her, legs steady and arms open wide, with thick, sharp nails stretching out at the end of each hand. Before her approach, she held her arm out towards his body, keychain in hand. As she jumped to him, she aimed her keychain at his neck and with a flash, whipped out her favorite keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, and watched it stab through the monster's neck. His head flew off abruptly, and Aqua opened her mouth in surprise as his body turned to dust before her eyes. Her lungs filled with the dust of the monster's remains, and just as she started to laugh at the absurdity of her situation, she looked to Kate who seemed to be losing the battle with her monster.

The no-eyed foe aimed his knife at Kate's left forearm and dragged it across as crimson blood dripped to the ground. She tried to throw another punch, but her arm was too weak so she resorted to her foot again. Before she could get in a solid kick, Aqua rushed to her side, keyblade in hand. Aqua began swinging her blade ferociously, and it landed right in the middle of the monster's chest. He let out a large grunt before falling to the ground. Aqua helped Kate up from the ground as she clutched at her bloody arm.

Their feet hit the pavement quickly, smashing down one foot after another. The wind slapped Aqua's face and although it wasn't the cold air she had prepared for, it felt sharp nonetheless. Kate stopped a few feet ahead to catch her breath. Aqua caught up, although she could have surpassed Kate a mile back.

"Where the hell did those guys come from? I didn't even see them pop out!" Aqua blurted.

"I've never… seen any vampires… like that before," Kate choked out between breaths.

"I have," Aqua announced. "Those were the monsters from my vision." A look of shock fell across Kate's face.

"They're the ones taking out your slayer sisters?" she questioned.

"Yep," Aqua replied. "There's got to be one here, otherwise they wouldn't have come around."

"We've got to get to Barb's!" and with that, Kate took off running. Aqua followed her in a gallop.

"Who's Barb?" Aqua cried out.

"A friend," Kate replied.

They reached a small, run down building on the outskirts of the city. It looked to Aqua like this would be the residence of a struggling artist. Homeless men sat outside, buried in layers and radiating a smell stronger than the one Aqua smelled throughout the city, or maybe this is where that smell came from. As the women walked into the entrance, one of the men howled out as though he were seducing a mate in the wild. Both women scoffed as they ascended up the stairs.

Once they reached the third floor, they exited the stairwell and hurried towards apartment number 6. Kate knocked on the door, at first at a normal volume. After a few more knocks and a few "Barb!" shouts, she began to pound louder. After moments passed with no luck, Kate pressed her head on the door to listen.

Silence.

Aqua noticed a look of worry appear on Kate's face.

"Is your friend usually here now?" she asked.

"Always. She sticks to a schedule and isn't known to stray much from it." She paused to think. "I'm breaking down the door."

"Whoa! We can't just go around breaking doors!" Aqua replied.

"I'll fix it," Kate stated as she moved her entire body into the door in an attempt to break it open. The door barely shook, and aside from that, didn't budge.

"Need help?" Aqua smiled, knowing full well that she would have no problem getting in.

"Please," Kate flashed with a smirk. She moved aside and watched Aqua go for it.

With one swift push, Aqua broke down the door while she kept it in tact, and only breaking off the handle.

"After you," she motioned her arms to the door.

The apartment appeared to be in shambles, which immediately sent Kate into a subdued panic. Normally she would have been much more open about her anxiety, but even in the midst of all of this she was worried about looking ridiculous in front of her new gal pal.

Books were tossed upon the floor, papers were scattered throughout the rooms, and Aqua noticed a black and yellow suit in shreds, pieces dispersed on the floor, bed, and all the way to the bathroom. A laptop was left on, with plenty of windows open in the internet browser. Kate began to look through her things for any sign that she didn't just disappear. Aqua was surprised to see remnants of a cowl similar to Kate's at the foot of the bed.

"Are you guys in a league or something?" Aqua asked.

"Or something," Kate laughed. "We're kind of a part of this fucked up family working together to protect Gotham." 

"Wait, she's your sister?" questioned Aqua, this time while pointing at a photo Barbara had on her wall of herself with a young, handsome dark haired man who also seemed to be apart of this 'family.' Kate looked up at the photo and smiled.

"Might as well be, we've been working together for the last few years. The girl drives me crazy, but I love her," Kate said while she continued to search through some of Barbara's notes on her laptop.

"Where do you think she could have gone?" Aqua asked. Kate replied with a shrug of her shoulders and went to the computer, where she was surprised to see a search open with the words 'Sunnydale' entered.

"Hey - Sunnydale, that's where your slayer leader is right? That's where you're trying to go?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, that's where home base is supposed to be."

"Apparently Barbara knew, she's got like eight tabs opened on Sunnydale and plenty of 'vampire' searches to go along with it."

Aqua's eyes grew wide. 'Was Barbara a slayer? Is that why she was searching this?' she thought to herself. Kate noticed Aqua's enlightenment and moved away from the computer and towards Aqua, who hovered at the doorway to the bathroom.

"I know what you're thinking, and if there's any chance Barb is a slayer, there's an even better chance that someone else found out and came here for her." She didn't want to scare Aqua, but she knew there was no way Barbara would have left like this, in a hurry or not.

"We've got to find her," Aqua replied.

"I'm betting they've already got her… and they might be on the same route you are -"

"So we keep hunting for the girls?"

"You ready to leave behind charming old Gotham and move on to the next?" Kate asked.

"No… but yeah."

"Let's go back to my place. We'll take the night off, get my stuff together, and head out tomorrow morning. Sound like a plan?"

"You sure we won't find Barbara here?"

"She's already gone. The only way I have any chance of finding her is with you," Kate replied.

"Then, it sounds like a plan."

Without another word, they raced out of the disastrous apartment, attempted to put the broken handle back on the door, and headed back to Kate's penthouse.

By the time they reached Kate's suite, the bright sun had lowered below the buildings and shadows crept over the city. Inside of her apartment, Kate prepared tea once more for the two to share. Aqua sat relaxed on the couch and watched Kate move nimbly through her kitchen.

"Need some honey, honey?" Kate joked as she walked over to the couch with both mugs in hand.

Aqua felt her face flush. "No thanks," she replied. 'Is she flirting? Should I be flirting back? I want to, I just -'

"How's your arm?" Kate asked before Aqua could finish her thought.

"My arm?" Aqua laughed. "You're the one who got sliced open!"

"Eh, flesh wound, no biggie," she smiled. "I didn't forget about your graceful coffee table smash."

"It's good," Aqua replied, embarrassed again by her klutzy self. "And yours?"

"It's alright" she said as she cozied into the couch closer to Aqua. "I'm doing better now though," she smirked to Aqua over her mug.

Aqua followed the lines on Kate's face that led to her smiling lips. She had been drawn to Kate since she first saw her, standing over those two men, radiating with experience, leadership and… God she was just so beautiful, Aqua thought.

"Am I gonna have to do all the work here, Aqua?"

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked rather innocently. Of course, she knew what she meant, but she wasn't going to give in to Kate that easily.

"Are you gay?" Kate blurted out.

Aqua began to laugh hysterically, no one had ever asked her so bluntly about her preference. Kate sat back, and her face beamed like a tomato before Aqua realized how terribly her response came out.

"Gay as a rainbow!" she continued to laugh. "Sorry, people don't usually just come out and ask me that. I guess I didn't expect it."

"No, no, you're good, I guess it was rather bold of me."

"I like that though," Aqua replied, "your boldness. You're not afraid to say what you want. I'd love to be that confident."

"You can be!" Kate responded. "Try it now… tell me one thing that's on your mind that you wouldn't have said to me two minutes ago."

Aqua was nervous. She could hardly tell Sora or Riku when she thought a girl was cute, let alone telling the girl herself. But there was a sort of shelter in Kate's eyes, and Aqua felt safe with her.

"I would really like to kiss you," she blurted out. Like a child confessing a crime, she threw her face into a pillow to hide. She couldn't believe she had said that. I mean, sure, Kate seemed pretty into her, but what if she wasn't? What if she was just being nice? What if she treated all the girls -

Without a moment to spare, Kate pulled Aqua's face out of the pillow to reveal a cherry colored face. She held onto her cheeks softly, looked into her eyes, and pulled her in for a kiss. Aqua felt a warm rush fall from her lips to the pit of her stomach. Kate was so soft, and she moved slowly and passionately, with ease.

The two were lost in their own world. Hands fondled, hair grasped, and hips held onto. Kate ran her hands down Aqua's arm and over her bandage. She stopped there, and pulled away from Aqua's lips to look at her covered wound.

"You're not sleeping on the couch tonight," Kate joked.

"I hope not," Aqua replied.

This time, Aqua went in for the next kiss. She held onto Kate's waist and pulled her closer until the two were nearly on top of each other. Kate moved her back on the couch to lay, and Aqua followed on top of her. They continued to kiss, tongues and hearts racing.

Aqua never remembered touching someone like this before. Sure, she had had sex, but there was an emotional connection she and Kate shared that she hadn't experienced with anyone before. Even though they were only sharing a kiss, she felt completely exposed to her. And she wanted to be.

Aqua stayed on top while they continued, and she began to grind her hips on Kate, who bucked her hips upward in response. Aqua let her hands wander down Kate's back and to her bra.

"Wait," Kate said suddenly. She pulled herself up, and Aqua quickly moved off of her and sat back on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Aqua asked in a concerned tone.

"I'm better than okay, actually," Kate laughed. "I'm sorry, I just - I don't want to mess this up." 

"Mess what up? Us?"

"Exactly."

Aqua couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous. She just told this girl she wanted her, and now she was being told to slow down.

"I think you're absolutely amazing," Kate continued, "and I want to come with you. I just don't want to ruin you."

"You've got a mighty big head on your shoulders," Aqua replied. "You won't ruin me. But… I get it. You're extraordinary and I just want to be around you."

"Would you hate me if I called it a night?"

"As long as I can sleep in your bed," Aqua said in an attempt not to flirt.

"Come on, let's get comfy," Kate replied. She took Aqua's hand and led her to the bedroom. The girls cozied themselves into Kate's large king sized bed and fell asleep in each other's arms.


	5. Taking Control

Buffy ran fast, much faster than the slayers who trailed behind her. She whooshed past Aqua, and the other warriors followed, each more clumsy than the last as they hurried on with shaky grasps on their weapons and worried looks. Aqua saw past the darkness and glared at the monster which trailed after them, just as wretched looking as ever, hunched over with arms outstretched and mouth agape, fangs dripping with crimson blood.

Aqua reached out to touch it as it moved past her, but her hand swept right through it.

The slayers ran toward the remnants of what used to be a hospital. It looked as though it hadn't been up and running for months. Foliage overtook the walls, and ivy cascaded over the windows and doors, blocking all entrances.

Aqua ran to follow and as she did her vision began to turn black, or maybe everything around her became consumed by blackness…

-x-

Aqua jolted awake, still covered in warm, thick white blankets that wrapped over Kate's entire mattress. Her redheaded friend remained unmoved beside her, one bare leg hanging off the edge of the bed.

The slayer stretched her arms out wide to stretch, and hopped out from under the covers quietly. She placed her foot on the ground and heard a crunch beneath her foot - it was the phone she was to use to update the gang back home.

' _Shit!'_ She hadn't spoken to them since she arrived in Gotham. She reached down to pick it up, and luckily just the corner of the phone was cracked, still totally usable. _'Better get updating.'_

It was the early hours of the morning, and the sun was still hiding. Aqua quietly crept into the living room, shutting the door behind her softly, and he fiddled with the buttons on her phone until "Sora" came up. She hit CALL and walked into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Ring ring. Ring ring. She started the brew and still no one picked up. Ring ring. Rin-

"Aqua?" a small voice finally broke out into her ear.

"Sora, hey! How's it going?" she began while she moved to the couch to sit.

"Aqua, is everything okay?!"

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, for one, you're on a possibly fatal mission, and two, it's 3 in the morning!"

"Shit, I'm so sorry, I have no concept of how any of these time differences are supposed to work."

"Neither do I," Sora laughed. "Hang on a sec." Aqua heard shuffling in the background, and a settled silence. "Alright, what's up?"

"I just wanted to give you an update on my sitch over in Gotham."

"Have any slayer wannabes shown up?"

"We know of one, so far."

"We? Who's we?"

"Oh! Kate… Kate and I… I sort of thought she was a slayer, turns out she's a kick-ass vigilante in Gotham. Anyway, now she's tagging along for the journey."

"Who the hell is she? How do you know if you can trust her? Is she going -"

"I trust her. Okay?"

"Okay. I just want you to be safe, Aqua."

"I know, thank you."

"Did you find the slayer?"

"Someone else did first," Aqua replied solemnly.

"What're you going to do?" Sora asked.

"Kate and I are going to find more girls. This one was her friend though, I feel bad. We're just going to the next spot, I guess."

"And I'll let you know if I hear anything from the King."

"Thanks, Sora. I'm gonna head off, I have plenty more travelling to prepare for. Love you."

"Love you too," he replied. "Stay safe."

"You got it."

Aqua hung up the phone and heard a rustle behind her.

"So, you trust me?" Kate popped out. Aqua turned to see Kate in the doorway, and rose from the couch and trudged back towards kitchen.

"Maybe," she teased as she passed by. Kate followed her and grabbed cream from the fridge.

"Any news from your friends?" she asked as she watched Aqua reach into the cabinet and grab two mugs.

"Nope, they'll keep me posted though," she smiled to Kate as she poured their coffee.

"Listen, I know we've got to leave soon but I have a proposition… You wanna watch the sun rise? I have a stellar view from the roof-top," Kate persuaded.

Aqua paused for a moment. "We should wait until the sun rises to leave anyway," she attempted to convince them. "I'm so in."

"I'll grab sweaters!" Kate said as she skipped to her bedroom.

-x-

The sun kissed the skyline as evidence of the night faded. Aqua and Kate sat side by side, wrapped under three layers of blankets. They stared into the city that had never actually gone to sleep last night.

Kate wrapped an arm around Aqua, who nudged into the redhead's neck.

"Ugh, does the sun have to stop setting?" Aqua complained as she took a sip from her coffee.

"Not excited for our next stop?" asked Kate.

"I'm just happy here, in this moment. I haven't had a lot of times like this I guess," she said as she continued to stare into the rising sun.

"We can have more… times like this, I mean," Kate said as she squeezed Aqua tighter. "But for now, we've gotta save the world,"

"That's what it always comes down to. I've got to give up everything and save the world. Again. Don't get me wrong, I want the world to be around just as much as the next guy, but I want to have my own life, too."

"Is it possible that, this is your life?"

"Then, is this really all that I have to look forward to? Moments of reprieve between my world-saving actions? I just want to control where my life goes, what I get to do with it."

"You can. We did it just now, right here. We took control and decided we were gonna watch the damn sun rise. And even if we've got to leave, we took this moment. For no reason other than we wanted to."

Aqua pondered on it. Her life had always been outlined, or guided, but she didn't realize that the moments in between were still hers to take. And she was going to take them, so she leaned into Kate's soft, red lips and they shared a kiss.

"That's the spirit," Kate laughed.

"We do have to hit the road." Aqua stood up, pulling the blanket with her and Kate followed as they shot down the stairs.

They reached the door to Kate's place and filed back inside. Kate scurried to throw the blankets in her room, then ran to the bathroom and left the door open, unabashedly, while Aqua began collecting the few items she had in her sack.

"So where's our world?!" Kate asked from the toilet.

Aqua shuffled through one of her pockets and pulled out the paper with worlds scribbled on it. 'University of Minnesota,' it read.

"You've ever heard of Minnesota?" Aqua yelled back to Kate.

Kate finished and walked out to Aqua's side. "Definitely not," she laughed. "But give me two more seconds, and I'll be ready to hear about it!" she said as she fled to pack her belongings.

-x-

Outside, back on the rooftop, the sky was an electric blue and the air was crisp. Aqua ignited her keyblade glider and hopped on. She motioned to the seat behind hers and Kate joined her, wrapping her arms tightly around Aqua's slim waist. They slayer triggered the engine with a flick of her wrist, and they soared high into the sky, leaving behind the city of Gotham.

-x-

The blue haired wielder and her vigilante sidekick floated through the air for hours, soaring through stars and clouds and space, when Kate finally broke the silence. She had to yell over the booming sounds of wind whipping past their ears.

"How long's the map say? My ass is cramping."

Aqua laughed. "Should be another twenty minutes," she called back.

Kate groaned and shifted her weight begrudgingly. They continued for the remainder of the flight quietly, as it was easier than shouting through the skies.

They quickly approached something, a new world it looked like. Kate had travelled before but never to many worlds outside of the one's close to home. The landscape was small, and although the buildings got larger as they closed in, it was compact compared to the massive city of Gotham.

It was nighttime here, a sight Aqua was getting used to. However, the campus was still visible in all of it's beauty. A smatter of red brick buildings sat before them, each varying in size. Golden brown and sunset orange leaves surrounded the campus on the various trees they were partnered with. A football field and three baseball fields lay out before them, and Aqua decided to use one of them to land.

The glider lowered into the earth and Aqua turned it off. Both women shot off the seat and onto solid ground.

"We're here!" Aqua said excitingly, almost forgetting that she hadn't come to tour the campus, but instead to find a slayer.

"Smells better than home," Kate joked.

Aqua turned her glider back into it's trusty keychain. "Well, I say we walk the campus, get a feel for it, check out any mysterious behavior?"

"Works for me," replied Kate. "We should roll by the dorms, there's bound to be weird activity going down, right? I mean it is college, after all."

"True," Aqua agreed. "Let's head this way," she pointed to a set of dormitory buildings along the outside of the campus. With a skip in her step, she took off in that direction, and Kate trailed behind.

The grey sidewalk was lined with flowers; purple, pink and yellow in color. While Kate and Aqua strolled down the lined up dorms, they didn't notice a figure that hovered next to a dormitory building on the far right, watching from the shadows, although not focused on the girls, but inside of the rooms.

Aqua admired the campus around her. She hadn't gone to college, and had always wondered what her life could have turned out like if she did, instead of going to train at the Land of Departure.

"Did you ever go to college?" Aqua questioned as they moseyed down the pathway.

"Nope, wasn't for me. I joined the military," she answered matter-of-fact.

The slayer was surprised she hadn't brought that up yet. "The military?! That explains your kick-ass moves. Are you still active?"

Kate looked down and Aqua hoped it wasn't a touchy subject. "I got kicked out. You can't be gay and serve. And, well, I was caught."

Aqua wasn't sure if she should press her further, but before her brain could stop her, she had already begun. "Well, I for one am glad it happened, or I wouldn't have found you."

' _Stupid! Stupid thing to say.'_ Aqua was nervous that she had stepped too far across the line.

"I'm glad, too," Kate smiled. "Besides, that place was soul sucking. Fighting for freedom when I didn't have any. Now I can be, and fuck, whoever I please!" They laughed.

Music boomed from the dormitory building furthest on the right, and loud voices echoed down the sidewalk and reached the women.

"Oooh, party? Wanna check it out?" Kate asked, though she was already moving closer to the sounds.

Aqua had only been to parties with Sora and Riku at her side, and was unsure of party etiquette outside of her home world. "You got an invite?" she asked.

Kate laughed. "We don't need one," and with that she galloped ahead like an excited school girl.

-x-

The redhead pushed the door open, and the music and voices jumped twenty decibels higher. Aqua followed inside and took in the party in front of her. In the common area were over fifty students, and the slayer eyed each of them - some were in the midst of conversation, others danced, couples were lined on the perimeter, lost in lips. Almost every one of them held onto a red plastic cup.

Kate looked back at Aqua who was still taking in the scenery, and grabbed her hand as she pressed further into the crowd, towards the back where she spotted a door. Sweaty bodies flailed through the house, bumping into Aqua more times than she would have preferred.

The pair joined the rest of the party in the backyard, which was almost as beautiful as the rest of the campus. Greenery overtook the landscape - trees seemed to grow in abundance, and trellises outlined the perimeter, filled with their own assortment of wild flowers and vines. The setup of the yard looked as though the Dean paid to furnish it himself. Hovered on chairs and tables, many students continued to drink, and smoke lingered in the air, dancing around bodies as they carried on in their fun.

Aqua felt a sensation tug at her, similar to the one she experienced in her visions. _'A slayer's here.'_ She was careful not to raise the alarm to Kate quite yet, not before she knew for certain.

Before Aqua realized, Kate grasped her hand once more and pulled her closer. Although it wasn't as loud out there, she dulled her voice in Aqua's ear.

"Check out those lovers." Kate laughed as she pointed to a pair of girls who were crashed into each other on one of the lawn chairs. "I knew the lesbians would be back here," she joked.

In between the women's hurried kisses, they passed a joint. Aqua couldn't even remember the last time she had smoked, and she was definitely down after the days she'd had. One of the girls was a curvier blonde, and the other had long brown dreadlocks and wore glasses. They were in no way trying to hide themselves, and Aqua admired it, not that she was closeted in her own life, but she didn't throw herself on attractive women at parties, and maybe she wanted to.

Kate walked up to the women shamelessly. "Care to share some tree?"

The women looked up, not quite surprised. "Please, come on down!" The brunette motioned to the chairs around them. The blonde moved from her spot on the brunette's lap to a chair on the right.

The dreadheaded girl handed the spliff to Kate as she and Aqua made themselves comfortable. Although the blonde looked annoyed their session was cut short, the brunette continued.

"Hey, I'm Cosima," she began as she gave them a small wave.

"Kate, and this is Aqua." Aqua smiled shyly beside her.

Cosima brought the joint to her mouth and inhaled. "You guys go to school here?" Exhale.

"No, actually I'm not from around here. Just in town for a minute," Kate answered.

"And what about you, Blue?" Cosima turned to Aqua.

"Same," she replied nervously, "I'm not in school or anything." The feelings she had earlier returned, and she felt slightly unsettled. _'Something's off…'_

Suddenly, crashes erupted from inside the house. Ear-piercing screams carried outside. Without a second thought, Kate and Aqua jumped from their positions and ran inside, leaving their new friends.

As they crashed through the door, partygoers ran rampant. Most scurried outside of the home, still screaming. Aqua couldn't find the cause of the commotion, although the room looked as if it had been disheveled over the course of thirty seconds. Tables were flipped, bodies spilled on the ground, and the music continued to blast over the chaos.

Aqua turned to face the front of the living room, and there she saw it. The monster. The strangely human-looking monster with symbols for eyes. With it, another decrepit vampire. The monster jumped towards more of the drunken college students, who ran out the door, and the vampire turned to face Aqua.

The slayer lunged toward the vamp, fists ready, and Kate followed suit. Immediately, the figure swung its arm at Aqua, which flew her to the other side of the room. It turned to Kate, who jumped into a kick, hoping to knock the monster on it's back. It's strength, however, overpowered hers, and it pushed her against a wall with such force, she lost consciousness completely.

On the floor, Aqua was in a stunned haze, she hadn't prepared for such a quick counter attack. Although her eyes fought to stay open, she could swear she saw Cosima rush into the room. Aqua moved slowly to get herself up and allow her eyes to regain focus, and while still readying herself, she determined it was Cosima who was now charging at the vampire, full force.

"Watch out!" Aqua yelled to her. Her warning was unnecessary though, because Cosima took on the monster solo. By the time Aqua was up and battle-ready, the brunette had already broken off a leg from a table to use as a weapon, and batted at the vampire. Aqua flew over to aid her, and as Cosima attempted to stake the vampire, Aqua whipped out her keychains in hopes to ignite her keyblade, Rainfell. With nails spread like knives, the vampire clawed at both of the women, causing thin red lines to appear across their arms. It took a swat at Aqua's face, and gashed her right cheek open which exposed soft, pink muscle.

With Aqua distracted for a moment, the vampire toppled on Cosima, knocking her to the ground. It squatted over her like a lion ready to devour its prey. She squirmed beneath its weight, unable to break free, and the vamp raised its arms to her neck. As it encompassed her throat, it didn't notice that Aqua now stood behind it, keyblade in hand. In one giant swoosh, she brought her blade to the vampire's neck, causing its head to slice off and roll on top of Cosima, before falling to the floor and turning into a pile of dust. Aqua took to Cosima's side and offered a hand.

"You've seen these things before?" Cosima asked, almost excitedly, as she raised to face Aqua.

"Once or twice," she responded. "The other guy's still out there…" she trailed off as she started toward the door. She paused and realized her teammate was missing. "Where's Kate?" she asked in a panic.

Cosima scanned the room and saw the redhead crushed against the wall, slammed between a speaker and broken shelves. The slayer ran to her side.

Kate was in terrible shape, and although her black costume hid any injuries on her body, she wasn't conscious, and her face was bruised and remained unmoved. Aqua reached down to her chest, but couldn't hear her breathing.

"Aqua watch out!" Cosima yelled from behind.

A thud hit the back of Aqua's head and stars entered her sight, which began to turn white. She heard crashes, swings, and booms, but couldn't bring her body to move. _'I got this, I got this.'_

It wasn't more than a few moments before her eyes flew back open, and she felt herself resurging, ready to take on anything. Behind her, Cosima threw kicks and punches at the human-looking monster. The keyblade wielder rushed to her side, pulled out Rainfell, and lunged towards the no-eyed freak.

The monster whipped it's curved dagger from beneath its cloak, but Cosima's reflexes outweighed it, and she grasped the knife before it could tighten its grip. She twirled the silver blade to face the monster, and plunged into it, at the same time that Aqua ran into it with her own keyblade. The monster toppled backwards, over a table, and a loud crunch came from its body. Aqua moved closer to see the damage, and it lay unmoved. The slayer brought her foot to it's neck and stomped down. _'Definitely not coming back.'_

From the other side of the room, a small groan escaped Kate's mouth, and Aqua rushed to her side. She released another groan, deeper this time, and attempted to move herself up.

"Kate!" Aqua embraced her and held on tight. She was okay, or alive anyway. "Don't move, I'll grab you." She turned to Cosima, who was now over the monster's dead body, examining it as if it was her own personal lab rat. "You have a place we can go to?"

"Yeah, definitely. Need help with her?" Cosima asked.

But Aqua had already grabbed Kate's limp, beaten body and held her in her arms. She looked to the door. "After you."

-x-

Cosima's place was much smaller than Kate's penthouse in Gotham. The walls were covered in a patterned wallpaper, and a thick, velvet, purple curtain hung to separate the rooms. Old books, picture frames, and various trinkets filled the chestnut shelves.

Kate was passed out in the bedroom, sprawled on Cosima's full sized bed, and the two girls who were still responsive sat in the living room, on a window sill that overlooked the campus.

"I knew it, I just knew it!" Cosima declared. "The visions, the monsters, the girl… I knew I wasn't losing my mind."

"I wouldn't count that out yet," Aqua replied with a giggle. "But, no, you're not alone."

Cosima lit up one of her pre-rolled joints and took a drag. "Slayer. Damn, that sounds legit." She blew out the smoke and passed it to Aqua, who stared at it for far too long. "Just suck in."

Aqua smiled, "I know, I'm just debating!"

"If you don't want any, no worr-"

"No, no, hand it over!" Aqua grabbed it and inhaled. Her eyes grew watery and her face turned red as she shoved the joint back to Cosima, and erupted in a coughing fit. Cosima couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"Water… please," Aqua cried.

Cosima dashed to grab her water bottle, and handed it over to Aqua who guzzled it down as if she hadn't been hydrated in days.

"How embarrassing," the blue haired slayer laughed.

"You're so good, I smoke every day and still can't keep it together," replied Cosima. "I've got to admit, this is some shit. I was just sitting in my school lab, sequencing some monkey genomes, when the earthquake hit. I didn't even realize what was going on by the time I was running around with blondie in my head."

"You saw her too!?" Aqua asked excitedly.

"Yes! It was so weird, I just had this, like, burning knowledge inside, like I had to be with her… I have to help her."

"It's so crazy to finally meet someone who's gone through it."

"You mean, Kate's not a slayer?"

"No. She fights like one, that's for sure. But nope, she just decided to help me."

"What a lady," Cosima smiled. "You guys are totally doing each other, aren't you!"

"No!" Aqua replied hurriedly.

"Mmmhm," the brunette replied with a smirk. "I can recognize that look anywhere, you're hooked."

"Maybe I am, but there's not much time for romance when you've got worlds to save."

"As in multiple worlds?"

"I've got a lot to catch you up on." A smile crept on Aqua's face. She was going to save her slayers. And the worlds.


End file.
